


a girl and her mermaid

by Vallern



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Cultural Differences, F/F, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Slice of Life, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-06-10 07:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6946129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vallern/pseuds/Vallern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snapshots in the life of Beca Mitchell, a fisherman, and Luisa, a mermaid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. girl meets mermaid

**Author's Note:**

> I miss this fandom :') Anyway, this is actually an idea from Pietro Maximoff/Wanda Maximoff that I helped HeyPotterhead write, and I did try to continue it with them but I don't know anything about Marvel/Avengers/superheroes in general, so I scrapped it and use it for Bekommissar instead.
> 
> Other characters will appear, and there will be some minor crossovers. They will be tagged as they appeared. 
> 
> This is an exercise for worldbuilding, so there won't be any heavy plot or anything.
> 
> Enough of my rambling, enjoy the story!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca met a peculiar mermaid, Luisa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm trying to make a less flail-y Beca. She's a bit quieter and reserved than usual, someone she will be without Chloe in her life, I think. She's polite to Luisa because, well, would you be rude to someone that can drown you without a lot of effort? (Not to say she won't be rude to other characters, just not Luisa lol)

Beca sat on her boat while watching the sunrise. She was a fisherman in a small seaside village. The little brunette enjoyed the quietness of her surroundings, taking in the beautiful scenery and the solitude it provided before she started fishing.

She had brought her breakfast with her; a slice of bread with dried fish. The small woman opened the wrapping and took a bite. She ate her food in peace, but something felt off. It was like she could feel a pair of eyes staring at her.

Something that should be impossible, seeing as she was  _in the middle of the ocean_. 

Beca looked over her shoulder only to find herself staring at a woman.

She had light blue eyes, long blonde hair, very pale—nearly translucent, even—skin, and she was currently leaning on the edge of her boat. She nearly screamed at the sight, but managed to only jolt in surprise instead. The woman didn’t seem to have any response and kept on staring at her, her pale face devoid of expression. She locked eyes with the fisherman, neither blinking.

Beca had heard stories about creatures like the woman—merfolk—ever since she was a child. She thought they were only stories made up by adults to keep children out of the water. She never thought they were real. It made her both scared and fascinated at the same time.

The stories she was told said that they were guardians of the sea, and people had to offer something precious to be left alone in peace. Beca didn't have anything on her, and giving her the remains of her dried fish was probably insulting. It could have been her cousin, for all she knew.

So she took her knife from her belt and poked her thumb, looking warily at the woman as she let her blood drop onto the sea. The woman's eyebrows raised, looking surprised. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it and dived back into the sea, revealing her black scaly tail.

And the fact that her upper body was bare.

Beca definitely  _did not_  see that.

 

* * *

 

The next day Beca sat on her boat, watching the sun rise as usual. She clutched the fishing pole, waiting for movement patiently. And movement she caught, but not from what she had hoped.

The woman was back.

"You know the old traditions, human," she said, her voice soft and deadly all at once.

"Did I do that right?" Beca asked quietly.

"Hm, yes. Although we prefer gold and jewelries, I suppose your blood was acceptable."

"So why are you here? Shouldn't you leave me alone?"

"Do you want me to leave?" Her eyes sparkled in amusement.

"Well, not really. It's not like you bother me," she answered truthfully.

"So what are you doing?" 

"Fishing. Um, is that all right with your people?"

"Yes. We understand they are a necessity to your survival. As long as you do not hurt my people or disrespect the sea, you are in no trouble." Beca noticed her voice was somewhat raspy, as if she was unused to speaking. Well, she probably was.

"Oh, I see. Thank you," she said awkwardly.

The woman nodded. She was about to dive back into the sea, but Beca stopped her.

"Wait!" She called out. "What is your name?"

The woman looked up at her. "You may call me Luisa."

And with that, she was gone.

 

* * *

 

The next few weeks, Beca and Luisa often sat in companionable silence. She would fish while Luisa swam around her like an over-sized fish (well, in a sense she was, but she wasn't going to tell her that). 

"What do you do when I am not here?"

"I read," she simply said. 

Luisa looked at her in confusion. "What is read?"

Now Beca was confused. What was the definition of reading, anyway? It was something that she just does, not something she thought about.

"It's um..." She trailed, searching for words. "You look at words and, um, interpret them." 

The blonde tilted her head to the side. "I do not understand."

"Um... I can bring you some books tomorrow, if you want?" 

"Books?" She seemed even more confused.

"Something that you use to read. You'll see."

She looked at Beca, deep in thought. "You humans are truly odd."

 

* * *

  

The next day, Beca brought an old book with her. By the time Luisa appeared, she brought the book out of the sack and brought it to the mermaid.

"This is a book," she said.

"Interesting," Luisa muttered, opening the book and turning its pages. She looked at the object in wonder as she traced the letters of the book.

"Careful, don't get it wet or the ink will smudge."

"Ink? What is ink?"

"Um, it's something like... You know, something that an octopus shoots out?"

Luisa's eyes widened in realization. "Ah, I see. Your people use this...  _Ink_... For scriptures?" Beca nodded. "How do you do that?"

"We use the ink to write letters on books," she explained.

" _Write?_ "

Beca sighed internally.

_This was going to be a long day._

 

* * *

 

"Lu...Lui… Luisa?" 

"Yes, that's it!" Beca smiled encouragingly at her. 

Over the past few weeks, she had been teaching Luisa how to read. Starting from the alphabets to simple words. Like sea, water, fish... Things around her. She was surprisingly a fast learner, Beca had to give her that.

Never in her life would she expect that she would be teaching a mermaid how to read. She would teach Luisa and the mermaid would help her gather more fish than she had ever gotten in her life. Well, it was a perk for being friends with a supernatural creature, she supposed.

"When will you teach me how to write?" She asked while staring at Beca's handwriting on a paper.

"When you can read a full sentence."

Luisa sighed in annoyance. "But this is starting to get boring."

Beca chuckled. "Well, that's studying for you. But keep it up and maybe I'll teach you next month."

"Do you promise?" 

"Only if you keep it up."

 

* * *

 

When Beca got back to her house that day, she saw her small hut was trashed. Her windows were shattered, half of her roof was missing, her clothes were outside and ripped apart, and even her door were nowhere to be found.

Beca blinked in surprise and she felt rage and dread consumed her at the same time.

_No… don’t tell me…_

Her eye caught a piece of paper tacked on a part of the wall that didn’t get destroyed. She quickly grabbed it and read the content.

**Mitchell,**

**You’re late. And this is your last warning. You know what we did to people who are late in paying back their debts.**

**You have 3 days.**

**Smith & Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger**

 Beca gritted her teeth and crumpled the paper in her hand.

Gods, poverty was so hard to live with. Last month, she didn’t get a lot of fish, so she had to borrow a few thousand coins to Smith and Abernathy. She didn’t have any choice. None of her neighbors would lend her some money to cover her bills and she was forced to get money from the notorious loan sharks John Smith and Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger.

Now she truly regretted it. Her time with Luisa made her forget the deadline that those two set to pay back her debts.

She had to make do in 3 days.

 

* * *

 

The next day was unlike the others. Gray clouds covered the sky and thunder could be heard. It was dawn, but it felt like a late afternoon. Beca was worried. How was she going to fish if the weather does not permit her? 

But she had to. She didn’t want to get killed or lost her house. She had to at least try.

By the time she was far from shore, the rain fell heavily as the sea rolled in big waves. Even the sea was gray. Beca felt fear taking over her body. She was alone in the middle of the ocean and the only color she could see was gray. 

Her boat rocked heavily, and she had to hold on to the boat just to balance herself. She looked around, looking for any sign of life. She was hoping a bigger boat would pass by and help. Or maybe Luisa.

A huge wave rolled her way and before she knew it, she was thrown off her boat. She tried to tread water, but the waves were strong, hitting her until she drowned.

The last thing Beca saw was darkness.

 

* * *

 

She could hear the rumbling of the storm above. It was... unsettling, somehow.

Luisa closed her book—the one she first got from the human—and prepared to swim above.

" ** _Luisa_** ," Pieter called, sitting on a rock underwater. " ** _Where are you going? It's storming above_** _._ "

Luisa looked at her best friend. " ** _I need to go u_** ** _p_** _._ "

Pieter sighed, rolling his eyes. " ** _There’s_** ** _no way that human of yours would be out in this kind of weath_** ** _er_** _._ "

Luisa ignored her best friend’s comment. " ** _I'll see you later, Pieter_** _,_ " she said before swimming up, leaving him outside of their post.

" ** _Boss_** ** _will ask about you!_** "

" ** _Tell_** ** _him_** ** _something! You're the_** ** _better_** ** _liar between us!_** " Luisa said over her shoulder, swimming quickly.

" ** _What should I tell him?! Luisa! Hey!_** "

 

* * *

 

Luisa swam to her usual spot; the one where she and the human would meet up. When she reached the surface. she only found the wooden remains of the fisherman’s boat. She felt her heart drop to her stomach. Quickly, she dived back down, searching for Beca. As she swam deeper, she noticed a hint of bright red in her hindsight. It looked out of place, so she approached it, hoping it was the human she was looking for.

Lo and behold; it was Beca after all. Luisa was glad for once she covered herself in such a bright colored... _shirt,_ was it? And not her usual black.

Her eyes were closed, her skin pale and lips blue. Luisa brought her hands to Beca’s cheeks, channeling her magic to the brunette so she could breathe underwater. For once she was glad that she had magic. 

She grabbed the smaller woman’s body, holding the human close to her chest as her tail pushed them onto the nearest sea cave she knew.

 

* * *

 

Beca opened her eyes, coughing out water. Her visions were blurry, but she could make out stalactites above her. Once her coughs died down, she heard splashes of water beside her. She turned her head to see Luisa sitting on the edge of the ground, her tail splashing around the water. She looked infuriated.

"Luisa?"                                

"Are all humans as stupid as you?" She spat.

"What?"

"What were you thinking?! Going out in a storm?! Even  _I_  know not to do such thing!" She yelled at her, her hands on her hips, baring her chest to Beca's eyes.

Beca quickly looked away. Despite the shivering cold, she could feel a warm blush creeping up her face.

"What now?" Luisa asked in annoyance.

"Huh?"

"Your face is red. Are you feverish?"

Beca's eyes closed in embarrassment. Sighing, she said, "It's called blushing."

"And why do you  _blush_?" 

"Because you're not covered!" She hersed, eyes still closed.

"Why would I be covered?"

"Because you're not supposed to show your private parts when you're not alone!"

Luisa rolled her eyes. "Is this one of your human traditions? Why are you so odd?" She ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

"Because that's just how it is!" 

Luisa growled and finally covered her breasts with her hair. "Happy now?" She snapped.

Beca opened one eye, peeking at the mermaid before opening both of her eyes and slowly sat up. "Yes, much better, thank you!"

Luisa sighed. "You should not react like that. This—" The mermaid gestured to her chest, which made Beca blushed again, "—is merely a glamour. My hair is glamour too." Luisa murmured the last part sadly.

"Glamour?"

"Yes. Do you think I truly have breasts and hair? Those are for humans, not us. Glamour helps to make us look more human."

"So your hair and, er, chest, is not real?" Beca blinked in astonishment. The stories never mentioned any of this.

"Yes."

"... Why do you want to look like human?"

Luisa sighed again. "Scales get boring after a while, you know. And human hair is so amazing! There are so many variations and texture and shapes..." The woman trailed off when she saw Beca smiling at her. "What? What is it?" She asked self-consciously.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just interesting to see you so excited like that." Beca bit her lips to hold back her laughter.  _Who knows a mermaid could be so excited over hair?_  "So it's just like an accessory for you?"

"Quite." Luisa nodded.

"I see. And, um, the chest?"

"I saw your females have these lumps of flesh and most men are quick to obey when they flashed a bit of breasts." She smirked. "It’s odd how you can be so affected. I mean, you have it too."

Beca scratched her head in embarrassment. "Well… sometimes females can be affected by another females’ breasts.” _Especially when it’s someone as beautiful as you._ “Or not at all. Same with men."

Luisa cocked her head. “I see. Interesting. So, you are affected by my breasts, then?” She smirked again.

Beca felt her face growing hotter by the second. “Well… yeah…” She trailed off and directed her sight to the stalactites above her.

Luisa’s smirk grew wider. "That is really interesting."

Beca didn’t reply and continued to stare at the cave’s opening above, trying to ignore how her heart hammered when Luisa asked her that.

Silence. Weak sunlight seeped into the cave and the light made her skin hermer. Beca squinted and realized that Luisa had _scaly_  skin. It was beautiful, and she stared in awe.

Luisa realized that she was staring at her and raised her eyebrows at her. "What?"

"You're shimmering! That's really beautiful!"

Luisa preened in response. "Why, thank you. You yourself are not terrible looking, as far as human goes." 

Beca snorted. "Not terrible looking, eh? I've heard better, but thanks."

The mermaid waved dismissively. She looked up to the hole where the sunlight seeped in.

"Why were you out in that storm?"

"Well..." Beca hesitated, but eventually told Luisa the full story about how she had to borrow money from loan sharks to cover her bills.

“So, you need money to pay those humans back?”

“Yes, that’s why I risked myself to go fishing today.” Beca sighed.

"I see." Luisa's brows furrowed thoughtfully. Awkward silence descended upon them, then she let out a low ‘hmm’ before turned to Beca.

"Wait here," Luisa said before diving into the water, purposely splashing Beca's face with water.

"Hey!" She spit out water from her mouth. "Where are you going?!" 

She lay down on the ground once again, waiting for Luisa to hopefully return. Half an hour passed by and she was starting to doze off until she felt a huge splash of water on her again.

"Hey, stop!" She quickly sat up. "I'm really sick of water toda—" Her words stopped the second she saw the stack of jewelry in Luisa's arms.

"Take it," she said, dropping the jewelries in front of Beca.

"Wh... What?" She gaped in astonishment. She had never seen anything so expensive her whole life.

"You mentioned debt and it is not like I have ever used them, anyway. So use it to pay your debt."

Beca's jaw dropped. She was flabbergasted by Luisa's generosity. "You're giving me all of  _this_?" 

"Yes, why? I have more if you want," she said casually.

Beca's eyes were bulging out of socket. "Are you wealthy down there?"

"Not really, but as a scout, I often stumbled upon jewelries that humans threw down there as a payment." she muttered.

“You’re a scout?”

“Yes, for my queendom.”

"There's a  _queen_?" Beca's head throbbed with the new information.

"Well, of course. What? Do you think only humans have queens?" She asked in annoyance once more.

"No. It's just... unexpected. I thought you were, um, independent."  _Savage_  flashed in her mind, but she quickly tamped it down. She didn't want to offend Luisa. She was helping her and it wouldn't do if the blonde drowned her out of anger.

"Humans and their assumptions," Luisa grumbled.

Beca's eyes returned to the jewelries in front of her. "So this is all for me?"

"Think of it as payment for teaching me how to read." She gave her a small smile. 

"How much will you pay me if I teach you how to write?" Beca asked, half in jest half seriously. 

"Twice, at least," Luisa said seriously. Beca fist-pumped internally, imagining herself bathing in a tub of gold coins.

"Really?"

"Of course." She shrugged. "Or do you want triple?"

Beca gasped. "Really?!"

"How many times do you want to say 'really'? Yes, I am serious."

Beca jumped and hugged Luisa. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" 

Luisa was hesitant at first, but she hugged her back. "Thank you, too, human."

 

* * *

 

The sky had finally cleared up once Luisa brought her near shore. The beach was empty, save from a few seagulls.

"We are here, human," Luisa said, pulling Beca up effortlessly. Once they broke the surface, Beca spit out water for the third time today.

"That was really weird," she said. Talking about the not-so-pleasant trip she took with Luisa here, even though she was able to breathe underwater because of her powers. It was scary, too. So dark and heavy. Beca shivered.

"That is how I feel when I breathe up here." Luisa touched her neck subconsciously. Upon closer look, she realized that there were gills on her neck. At the moment, it was closed, so Beca only saw three stripes of opening in Luisa’s right neck.

"Well, I shall return home now," the mermaid said. Beca pulled the makeshift bundle from her shirt to carry the jewelries beside her. 

"Thank you," she told her once again. 

"It is fine, no need to thank me so much," she turned around, her back facing her now. "Oh, before I forgot," she turned her head to her. "I never caught your name, human."

 _After all this time?_  Beca wanted to facepalm herself.

"It's Beca," she said.

"Beca." She smiled. "I will see you soon, Beca." And with that, Luisa dived into the water.

Beca smiled and walked back home, carrying the bundle of jewelries on her back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit contrived, I guess, but sue me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> If you want the reference for how Luisa's skin looks like, look up Mass Effect 3's Liara, but with pale skin. Like that.
> 
> Yaaaay mermaid magic. But it's not perfect.
> 
> *foreshadowing music*


	2. aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca fed Luisa bread and cheese, and Luisa told Beca a little about her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's a bit stiff or OOC.
> 
> Expect a lot of fantasy staple food because I like it ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Beca opened her eyes to a sight of the newly repaired roof. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, stretching her body and felt refreshed now she didn’t have to sleep on the floor while huddling against the cold anymore because her door, windows, and roof were gone.

After she got back from the beach where Luisa left her, she quickly hid half of the jewelry in a small inlet and sold half of it. The trader raised his eyebrows and prepared to throw her out for tracking water all over his store (and indecent exposure because she only wore a thin, wet bandage over her chest), but quickly shuts his mouth when Beca opened her shirt bundle to reveal jewelry.

She paid Smith and Abernathy back when their goons came to her house and repaired her house. She swore to the Gods that she will never borrow money again from them.

She drank a glass of water from her bedside and went to the outhouse to do her morning routine. After that, she ate a bowl of honeyed porridge and a cup of tea for breakfast and prepared her lunch.

While she prepared her lunch from her tiny kitchen, she could see from her windows that people were starting to wake up and gathered near the communal fire. They all look excited and the children were running around with a half finished kites on their hands.

Next week will be the annual festival to celebrate the Gods’ generosity and kindness. It was tradition to write your thanks or wishes and tied it to a kite, then flies it and let it go so the Gods can see it.

She usually avoided that kind of thing since the crowds and noises made her uncomfortable. A lot of traders came on that day, and the small, sleepy village of Barden came alive on that day. Visitors came and business boomed, except hers, that is. She wasn’t good at hawking her fish, so she rather went fishing on that day or hid in her hut.

Maybe this year she could sit with Luisa when the day came? It would be nice to spend more time with her, away from people who were always so noisy and annoying. Maybe she could teach her to write already.

She quickly wrapped her bread, cheese, and a tankard of water for her lunch in a makeshift bag and grabbed her fishing pole.

She had fishing to do and a mermaid to teach.

 

* * *

 

“Luisa, are you there?” Beca whispered to the sea, her eyes looking around to see some movement around her.

No answer.

“Luisa?” _How strange_ , Beca thought. _Usually Luisa would be around at this time._

_Maybe she’s busy down there? It’s not like I could check…_

With a heavy sigh, she set up her fishing pole and braced herself for a dull fishing session. She will get a lot of fish regardless of Luisa’s presence, but it’s **boring.**

She really liked talking to Luisa even if she was standoffish and arrogant sometimes, but it was easy to amuse her and Beca liked that about her. The mermaid was strange, sure, but Beca chalked that to cultural differences and, of course, species differences.

Sometimes she still couldn’t believe that she met a real life merfolk, let alone made friend with one. It still feels like a dream, but she knew it was real because some of her older books disappeared and sometimes there were strands of blonde hair on her (newly bought and better than before) boat when Luisa leaned on it to either listening to Beca reading to her or just looking at the sky with her.

She mindlessly caught fish until she saw how high the sun was. It was lunchtime and she was hungry.

As she took her lunch from her bag, she noted that Luisa still not emerged from the sea. She wouldn’t admit it, but she pouted for a few seconds before taking a bite of her bread and looking at the calm, blue sky.

(So different from when it was gray and she nearly died and—)

“Beca.”

She choked at the sudden sound and quickly gulped her water before turning around to see Luisa leaning on her boat.

“Are you alright, Beca?” She tilted her head. It reminded her of a puppy, if a puppy possessed an incredible magic and scaly tail.

“Yes, just surprised.” She smiled a bit. “You’re a bit late, today.”

“Yes, Pieter hid my books and I had to look for it.”

“Pieter?”

“My—“ Whatever Luisa was saying, it sounds like water splashing against the rocks between a small stream. Beca blinked.

“Excuse me, what did you say?”

“I said, he is my—“The same thing happened again. Beca cleaned her ears with her fingers and Luisa scrunched her nose.

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I think I can’t hear you when you said what your relation to this Pieter is.” She shrugged at Luisa’s furrowed brows. “I just heard what sounds like water splashing against rocks or something.”

Luisa’s eyes widened. “Ah. My apology, sometimes my language does not translate well, even with magic.”

“That’s okay. It’s really interesting.” Beca smiled and making a mental note of the differences between human language and merfolk language.

“I suppose. Anyway, we are fellow scouts and we often talk and do things together.”

“Oh, he’s your friend, then.”

“Fff…fr…” Luisa attempted to pronounce the foreign word for her.

“F-R-I-E-N-D. Fr-iend.” Beca encouraged her, her lunch forgotten in excitement of seeing Luisa again and teaching her things.

“Fr...fri…frie…friend.” Luisa looked at Beca for approval. She grinned and nodded quickly.

“That’s right, Luisa. You’re a fast learner.”

She scoffed and her tail splashing water nearby. “Of course I am, now teach me how to write.” She demanded.

Now it’s Beca’s turn to scoff. “Like I said, only after you can read without stumbling. You still stumble over simple words, Luisa.”

“It is because your language is weird!”

“Your language is weird too.”

“No, yours is weirder!”

“Yours!”

“Yours!”

“Yours!”

“Yours!”

“You—“ Beca rolled her eyes. “You know what, let’s stop. This will never end.”

“Good, that means you admit your language is weirder.” Luisa folded her arms across her chest and Beca tried not to stare as her arms accentuate her… assets.

“Fine, fine. My language is weirder, you happy?”

“Of course.” Luisa’s tail splashed water again, but this time in a smaller amount. Beca wondered if she was distantly related to dogs or if it was just how merfolk were.

“Do you bring your books? I didn’t bring any today, sorry.”

“Me neither. I had to hide it in a safer place in case Pieter tries to hide it again.”

“So, you’re close with him?”

“Yes. We are close in age and quite compatible, personality-wise.”

“How old is he?”

“Hmm…” Luisa tapped her chin. “He fought in Atlantis Wars, so perhaps around 300 years, give or take.”

Beca’s brain short-circuited from what Luisa just said. _Atlantis Wars? 300 years?! How old is Luisa, then?!_

Logically, she knew they had different lifespan, but not to that extreme.

Perhaps she just tried to fool herself.

“Beca?”

“Sorry, did you say something?” She shook her head and blinked rapidly, still trying to process Luisa’s information.

“I said, are you okay?” Luisa frowned. She gently touched her knees and just put her hand there. Beca looked at her hand and noted it felt strangely warm, and how her fingers were longer than average humans by about a quarter and how thin it was. She tried to ignore the flinch that always appeared whenever someone touched her.

“Yes, I’m just… surprised.”

“Of what?”

 _Your lifespan_ , she wanted to say, but instead she said, “The Atlantis Wars, you say?”

“Oh. Yes, the Atlantis Wars.” She sneered, and it wasn’t a good look on her. It looked cruel and out of place for Luisa.

“… Was that a sore spot? Sorry for asking, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

She shook her head, sending a wave of blonde hair flying around and accidentally flashed Beca her chest. Beca felt a telltale blush started to form, but tried to ignore it.

“It is alright. It was a long time ago, and I was not even born yet back then. I do not know why I am so affected.” She sighed. “My people and the people of Atlantis hate each other. No one remembers why, not even my—“Her word now sounds like heavy rain hitting the ground, but she didn’t notice Beca’s cleaning her ears again and absent-mindedly stroked her knee. “—remember, it was so long ago.”

“I see. My people waged wars for reasons they don’t even remember, too.” Beca said, remembering what she read from history books that she procured from traders.

“I suppose foolishness is a trait all creatures share.”

“Unfortunately.”

They were quiet for some time, and Beca half regretted asking her about it. Meanwhile, Luisa kept stroking her knee with her long fingers while looking distantly at the horizon.

Beca’s stomach growled.

“What is that sound?!” Luisa stopped stroking Beca’s knee and looked around in fright, expecting a fight.

“Ah… it was just my stomach… I forgot to finish my lunch.” She smiled sheepishly at Luisa.

“Did you store an animal there?” Luisa’s eyes flitted to Beca’s stomach. She blushed.

“No, it’s just…” She scratched her head, trying to find an explanation for the older woman. “Sometimes that’s just how human biology work.”

Luisa blinked. “I see. How curious.”

She turned to see Beca’s forgotten bread. “Is that your lunch?”

“Oh yeah, it’s bread and cheese.”

“What is that?”

“Well, bread is made from flour and cheese is made from milk.”

“I do not know what is flour and milk either.” Luisa cocked her head.

Beca sighed internally. “It’s food. Here, have half of it.” She tore it in half and offered the part to Luisa, who stared at the food with wide eyes.

Noting Luisa’s hesitation, Beca gently encouraged her. “Try it, it’s delicious.”

Luisa looked at Beca’s offered hand for a bit before taking the food from her hand. She took a bite daintily and chewed.

“So, what do you think?”

“Hmm…” She swallowed. “It is a little strange, but I like it.” She took another bite, this time bigger than before.

“Glad you like it.”

They ate their food in silence. It didn’t really satisfy Beca’s hunger, after sharing her meager lunch with Luisa, but she didn’t mind. She could buy a bowl of stew on her way home.

They lazed around after that (or at least Luisa did, Beca reeled in fishes every 5 minutes or so) until the sun started to dip lower.

“Ah, I must get back, Luisa. Sorry to cut it short.”

“It is fine. I am the one who was late anyway.” Luisa waved off Beca’s words. “We shall meet again tomorrow, but I will be early.”

Beca smiled. “That’s great. And bring your books, will you? I’ll teach you some more.”

“Of course.”

Luisa stared at Beca for a long while. Beca was mesmerized by the way the setting sun made her scaly skin shimmering beautifully.

She thought she can see rainbows dancing on Luisa’s arms, but before she can get a closer look, the mermaid turned around and splashed the fisherman with water.

Beca sputtered and swore she can hear Luisa laughing as she dived back into the sea.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if merfolk are lactose intolerant...


	3. a sort of rival appears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luisa and Pieter talked a bit about humans and their strange way, and a sort of rival appeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mini update! Yay! Or not so yay, if you like long chapters.
> 
> Don't worry, the OC is just there to add flavors. Can't have the merfolk consists of only Luisa and Pieter, right? Same with Beca's human acquaintances later.

Luisa sat on a rock while reading a book from Beca with her tail curled to the side. She was on the outskirts of the city, and the glowing crystal around it gave enough light for her to read so she didn’t need to catch a phosphorescent fish. Or using her magic.

Reading was a thing that came easily for her. Sure, she still stumbled upon some words, but Beca said she was a fast learner.

But sometimes some words just blurred for her, or merged into one. Like this passage.

_Everything about him was – except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were – and –._

She scowled. What were the words written on the page? Why couldn’t she understand it?

Maybe she needed more time to learn?

Luisa was too occupied by her own thought; she didn’t realize the water around her moved.

**_“You’re a bad sentry, Luisa.”_ **

She stiffened and looked over her shoulder to see her best (and only) friend, Pieter. He grinned and swam lazily to approach Luisa. She relaxed and smiled a little.

**_“Pieter. Back already?”_ **

**_“Of course. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you alone for too long.”_** She let Pieter swam around her and sighed when he touched her tail with his. She headbutted him gently in return and he smiled fondly at her.

**_“Oh please, I know you’re glad for a chance to leave.”_ **

**_“Well, yes, but I forgot how aggressive garrison soldiers are.”_** He shrugged his massive shoulder. **_“I’ve had several women snuck to my room, others proposed breeding requests to me in public, and most of the men were pissed that I got the women’s attention better than they could.”_** He snickered, scaring a school of fish nearby with a low rumble from his throat.

**_“What did you do?”_ **

**_“With what?”_ **

Luisa hit his stomach with her tail. **_“The requests, you absolute moron.”_**

**_“Ow!”_** He rubbed his stomach gently while pouting. **_“I’ve turned them down and I gave the men some mirrors that I found on my way there.”_**

**_“You got off easy, then.”_ **

**_“Thankfully, yes.”_ **

They were quiet for some time, just enjoying each other’s presence. Luisa loved this part the most about Pieter; he knew when to shut up. But sometimes he can be annoying too.

**_“So, I see you’re reading the scriptures from your human.”_** He smirked and poked Luisa’s tail.

She scowled. **_“What of it? And next time you hide it again, I’ll break your mirrors.”_**

**_“So possessive!”_** He guffawed. **_“And no, I’m just wondering, since you were so enraptured by it.”_**

**_“Because it’s interesting.”_ **

**_“What’s so interesting about humans?”_ **

**_“Apart from how frail and short-lived they are, almost nothing.”_** She shrugged. **_“But I suppose they are quite colorful and diverse. Literally and figuratively.”_** The blonde tapped her chin. **_“It’s quite a wonder how they can make do with how limited they are. Not many lands can be lived, from what I’ve read, but they thrived. Although, they can be so backward and savage.”_** She wrinkled her nose.

**_“Is that so? What do you mean?”_ **

**_“For example, they expect to be staying with one person for their entire lives after joining in matrimony. I… that’s so strange.”_ **

Pieter laughed loudly. **_“What! Are they insane?! So many wonderful people, yet they restrict themselves to one person? How boring!”_**

Luisa chuckled. **_“Indeed. I don’t understand either. I shall ask my human when I meet her again.”_**

**_“You should. Ask her how come humans don’t die of boredom from spending years with the same mate!”_ **

**_“I will.”_ **

**_“Also…”_** He raised his eyebrows. **_“Would you take me to see her, someday? I’m curious about your human. I want to see her with my own eyes.”_**

**_“If you want to, sure. But perhaps not now. I’m still a bit unsure about her.”_ **

**_“Ah, why do you still unsure? I don’t think she will lead the other humans to attack us or anything.”_ **

**_“I know, it’s just odd how she’s content of being alone most of the time. I thought humans are social creatures.”_ **

**_“I thought so too, but what do I know.”_ **

Luisa hmph-ed and fell silent. They were quiet for some time, until Luisa stiffened and Pieter groaned quietly at the sight of a mermaid that swam in their direction.

She stopped in front of Luisa and Pieter. **_“Hello, Pieter! Back already?”_** The bald mermaid greeted him cheerfully.

**_“Uh, yes, Agni. Nice to be back.”_ **

**_“I bet!”_** Agni smiled coyly at him. She turned to Luisa and her smile became strained. **_“Hi, Luisa. I didn’t see you there.”_**

**_“Hello, Agni. I’m just leaving.”_** Luisa forced a smile and saw Pieter’s silent plea of help. **_“Pieter needs to come, too. Indra wants to see us. Reports, you know. Boring stuff.”_**

Agni pouted. **_“Really? But I just meet you again, Pieter!”_**

**_“Well, we can catch up later if you want, Agni.”_** Pieter smiled widely that didn’t reach his eyes. The other mermaid squealed and hugged Pieter, pressing her long body to his and coiling her tail with his. Luisa cringed, but she didn’t say anything.

**_“It’s a promise, Pieter! See you!”_ **

He waved half-heartedly at her and swam to the southern part of the city where the scout headquarter was located along with Luisa.

**_“Thanks for saving me back there.”_ **

**_“Don’t mention it. I’m glad I can escape her, too.”_** She sighed ** _. “But we do need to see Indra anyway.”_**

**_“You’re right. He’s probably waiting for us.”_ **

**_“Let’s go.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beca will be back next chapter, and Luisa can ask awkward questions to her :')
> 
> Luisa's book was The Old Man and the Sea. It was like, one of the books that I bother to finished back in college lol.


	4. sleep cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimpses of Beca's and Luisa's past, and they literally slept together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wtf did i just write

Today was the day before the festival. Beca sighed—in less than 24 hours, Barden would be crowded with visitors for the festival.

She hated crowds; it gave her a headache from all the noises and smell and heat, not to mention the chaos and pickpockets and crying children separated from their parents—

Just thinking about it gave her a mild headache already. She rubbed her temple and continued to pack her lunch, which was bread and a cut of beef with some lard. She wished it wasn’t too much of a hassle to bring a bowl of stew to the sea with her; she bet Luisa will get a kick from beef stew with pepper.

She wondered what kind of food the merfolk ate. Did they eat their sea brethren? Was that some kind of cannibalism?

She decided she would ask Luisa those questions and head out to the sea.

 

* * *

 

It was nearly noon and there was no sign of Luisa yet. Beca rolled her tired shoulders and took some respite from catching fish. She thought it would be enough for the day, and her boat had started to feel heavy from all the fish, anyway.

She lay down on her boat, ignoring the smell of fish around her. It was quiet, and her companion right now was the sun, wind, and sea. No humans.

Perfect.

She wished she could live somewhere without human. Humans were so… complicated. Messy. Confusing. They lie and always so indirect. They didn’t tell the other humans what they want, and they get angry when the other humans did what they didn’t want them to do. Why not just tell them?

Sometimes, she felt bad for Luisa. The one time the mermaid got to meet a human that didn’t sell her out or scared of her, she met her, a reclusive misanthropist who felt more at ease on her boat at the sea or when reading in her house. How could she teach Luisa about humans, if she herself barely understood the finer points of human interaction and socialization?

Sure, she could teach the blonde how to read (and write, eventually), but what if she started to ask difficult questions?

About courtships, for example. Beca was actually surprised the older woman didn’t ask for that, or at least not yet, because if she was a mermaid and Luisa was a human, it would be the first thing she asked. Damn the propriety and shame.

She wanted to ask about the merfolk customs of courtship and (what else) sex, but she figured now was not the right time. Besides, it felt so sudden. She didn’t want to offend Luisa or scared her new friend away.

Growing up, Beca never really had friends. She was more interested in fishing and books and food (still are) instead of playing with other kids, whether it was playing house with the girls or playing the pirates and the crown with the boys. And so, her interactions were limited to her parents and her parents’ friends.

When she did play with the other kids once or twice to indulging her mother’s wish, she felt awkward and out of place. They knew each other since a long time ago, while Beca was not a part of their social circle. They did accept Beca to play with her, but her distance and quietness made them perceived her as aloof and snotty. She tried to talk to them and finding common grounds, but none of them had the same hobby as her. Whenever they made jokes, she was often slow to catch on and so they also added humorless to their judgment about her.

Soon, they began to ignore her. Greetings went unanswered, smiles were met with blank stares, and they moved away when she sat near them. Beca gave up not long after.

She turned inwards to her books and imagination and found herself content. Perhaps the best gift that she ever received was literacy. Beca couldn’t imagine how she would live if she can’t read and thus unable to drown herself in another world for a few hours. She was glad her father made her learn how to write, read, and count.

Barden wasn’t a backward hole like many people thought. The literacy level there was probably surprising, given there was only one school, unlike the capital, which had proper school and even university. But the people were too busy working, and sometimes education wasn’t a priority when you had three screaming kids begging you for food in your house. It was quite a luxury and privilege to go to school in Barden; it means your parents weren’t struggling to put bread on the table and a roof over your head.

Beca wouldn’t call herself rich, but back when her parents were still with her, she lived well enough to eat three times a day, a proper education, and clothes that didn’t need to be patched. She supposed it was because her parents lived within their means—she was an only child from a fisherman and a tailor, so it wasn’t like there were a lot of mouths to feed, unlike other people in Barden, who went ahead and had six children and counting despite barely had enough to eat.

She supposed a part of why the other kids weren’t so keen on her was her ‘higher’ standing. It confused her to no end, but resentment and jealousy will always exist as long as people live.

It ended when her mother died.

She was fourteen springs and was in school when her teacher pulled her aside.

Swallowed by the sea, he said.

They found the remains of her boat, but her body was nowhere to be found. Beca didn’t know whether to cry with relief or anguish. She was denied for even a funeral by the Gods, but on the other hand, she didn’t have to suffer looking at her mother’s lifeless body.

They had a symbolic funeral, and the village pitched in to buy a cheap wooden boat to be released at the sea.

Beca’s father was quiet throughout the funeral and she herself was quietly sobbing. She was close with her mother. She taught Beca everything and even started to take her fishing when she was ten springs. Beca understood the basic and all, but she never dared to go to the sea without her mother to guide her.

Now who was supposed to teach her?

Halfway towards the funeral, her father left and no one stopped him. No one could say anything to the grieving man who lost his wife so suddenly against the sea.

After a long prayer to the God of Sea and the Goddess of Death, the villagers dispersed, leaving Beca alone staring at the sea.

When she got back to her house, she found it picked clean except for her room. It was like no one ever lived there at all.

Her father left her, right after her mother’s funeral.

That day, Rebeca Mitchell the village outcast became Rebeca Mitchell the village’s pitiful outcast.

 

* * *

 

She dozed off after a few minutes and didn’t hear the telltale splash of Luisa’s arrival. She kept sleeping even when Luisa leaned on her boat.

The mermaid opened her mouth to wake her human up, but she closed it again. She never saw a human sleeping before. It was a wonder how they could just lie down and let their consciousness drifted away.

She wished sleep came that easy for her.

It was a bit odd how her human slept in the middle of the day. She knew humans sleep at night, but perhaps Beca wasn’t like most human? Perhaps her sleeping hours were different?

In any case, it was a wonder.

Luisa stared at Beca. For a human, she was quite aesthetically pleasing. Tan skin from hours in the sun, long brown hair that often tangled together in knots from the sea water, and a pair of big brown eyes. Perhaps a bit too short for a human, but it didn’t detract from her appearance. If anything, it makes her looks… what was the word…

Cute?

Yes, cute. Her shortness actually made her look cute and young.

She wondered how old Beca is. Had she breed already? How about mates? Or a mate, since humans had this strange custom of only having a mate instead of mates.

She wanted to ask her that, but she didn’t want to offend the young human. If the human got angry and left her, she wasn’t sure she could cope with her boredom once again.

Pieter was an excellent friend, sure, but it was increasingly hard to have quality time with him. He had to fend off other admirers that wanted to take him as their first mate or one of their mates. How could they not? Pieter’s scale was rainbow; a rarity in the society of merfolk. It meant that he will have his fertility for a long time, and he was capable of carrying many children at once.

A lot of people accused her of staking her claim for Pieter, yet didn’t have any intention to take him as a mate. She only scoffed whenever she heard those rumors. They were just friends, she had no interest in that way with Pieter, and she was fairly certain Pieter didn’t feel anything towards her but fellowship.

Come to think about it, she never really thought about anyone in that way. She didn’t want to breed with anyone or have anyone bear her children, but perhaps the companionship wouldn’t be so bad. Having someone else chained near you when you go to sleep seems wonderful.

She was approached a few times by other mermaids with her… taste, but they mostly just wanted a quick tumble, and she didn’t really care about that. When she was approached by mermen, which was even rarer since it was usually the females who approached the males, they just wanted to get pregnant in hopes of getting magical children, even if that means approaching an outcast like her. She turned them down even faster, sometimes with a sharp reprimand, or if she was in a bad mood, a beating.

All of it didn’t help her reputation and standing among the merfolk, of course. Most merfolk her age were already bonded with mates (bonded! Luisa shuddered at the thought) and having children, but she was still alone and never sired any children.

Children were important in merfolk society. They were never plentiful to begin with, and even with a life span like theirs, they still can perish. It was an unwritten rule that after a certain age (some said after the Rite of Passage, some said after they went to the proving ground) they will have children with a mate or two, and after that, they were free to seek other companionship that they desire, be it male or females or both.

Luisa wasn’t known by bowing to the rules, so she ignored it and went cavorting with a human instead.

Speaking of humans…

The mermaid watched the human as Beca’s eyes slowly fluttered open. The short woman yawned and stretched, only to freeze when her fingers touched Luisa’s forehead.

“Uh… hi. When did you come here?” She asked while slowly withdrawing her hand from Luisa’s face.

“Long enough to see you produced water from your mouth.” Luisa smirked. Beca went red and wiped her mouth with her shirt.

“Why are you sleeping when it is still bright? I thought humans only sleep at night.”

“Huh? No, not really. We can sleep anytime we want, if we want to. What I did was called napping, and it was quite pleasurable. It gives the body a rest in the middle of the day.”

“Sounds wonderful. I wish I could sleep that easily.”

“Can you not sleep?”

“I can, but I require to be chained to a post in order to sleep, or I will be carried by the water.”

Beca wrinkled her nose. “Chained to a post? That sounds uncomfortable.”

“It is uncomfortable, and that is why I do not like to sleep.”

“How long can you stay awake?”

“Perhaps five or six days. My personal record was a fortnight, however.”

The fisherman’s eyes bulged. “If humans tried what you did, we’ll be dead. I feel terrible when I don’t have a good night’s sleep, let alone two weeks.” She shook her head.

Luisa scoffed. “How weak.”

“Hey, not all of us have merfolk stamina, you know. Some of us need to sleep and eat. Speaking of eating, I’m going to eat my lunch.”

“Go ahead. I like seeing your food.”

“Really? What kind of food merfolk eats anyway?” Beca took out her bread and cut it in half for Luisa. The mermaid took the bread and sniffed it carefully. Shrugging, she took a bite and made an unpleasant face when her tongue touched the lard.

“We eat nothing like this. What is this?” She gave back her bread to Beca, who shrugged and put the offered food back in her wrapper.

“It’s bread, beef, and lard. Beef and lard were made from animals. Land animals, that is.”

“The meat was alright, but the… blubber… tastes unpleasant.” She shivered.

“Okay, no more lard, then.” Beca smiled apologetically.

“I shall bring you food next time.”

“Really? I can’t wait!” The human grinned in anticipation. _Food! Free food!_

“Your excitement is noted, human.”

Beca finished her lunch and lay back down on her boat. Post-lunch sleepiness was her worst enemy.

“Are you going to fall asleep again?” Luisa asked with an amused smile.

“Maybe.” Beca yawned. “You know… you’re welcome to sleep on my boat, if you want. I have enough room, and you don’t have to be afraid of being carried by the water here. I—“Her words were cut off by a bigger yawn than before. “I will keep you safe.”

Luisa blinked and felt her tail wagging underwater at Beca’s words. Keeping one’s safe was a part of the merfolk bonding vow, but she was certain the human was not aware of that, and just saying that as a reassurance.

“Wait, can you even go outside of water?” Beca squinted with half closed eyes towards Luisa.

“Yes, my magic will cause me to be able to do that.”

“In that case, you’re welcome to sleep beside me. I won’t be an entertaining guest when I’m asleep, I’m afraid.”

Luisa mulled over Beca’s offer. The last time she went to sleep was three days ago, and she wasn’t tired enough to sleep, but maybe she could sleep without being chained for the first time in her life.

The answer was obvious.

The blonde pulled herself up, careful about keeping the boat upright, and lie down besides Beca. It was small fit, but just enough to be comfortable. Luisa let the tip of her tail touched the sea, as a reminder that she was still near it, but she let herself drifted off.

The breeze and the shade provided with the sail and tarp that Beca erected was enough to lull them to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beca girl you move fast like damn


	5. twincest lesbian moons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca and Luisa met a ghost ship and twincest lesbian moons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for [Jura](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Jura/pseuds/Jura) eyyy happy birthday again i actually wanted to post it on your bday buuuut it wasn't done yet no thanks to morning shift so i'm sorry this hot mess is your present orz ;_;

The distant rumble of thunder slowly woke Beca up from her sleep. She blinked away sleep from her eyes and she was surprised to see a darkened sky above her instead of the roof.

She tried to sit when she found out she couldn’t move. Beca froze and slowly turned her head to her side to see Luisa encircled her arms around her torso. The mermaid was holding on really tight, and the human’s eyes widened when she felt Luisa’s naked breast pressed to her arm.

_She’s so warm and… oh Gods, are those her…?!_

Beca yelped and tried to scramble away in vain thanks to Luisa’s iron grip. She struggled to even lift the mermaid’s arms, which was ridiculous because even with her small size, Beca was always strong enough to lift things on her own. What lone fisherman can’t pull and lifted their fishes on their own?

The sound and Beca’s movement woke Luisa up and she shrieked when she saw the sky above her instead of the calming darkness of the sea. Why would she sleep without her chain? Not to mention on the surface! What’s going on?!

In her panic, she let go of Beca and threw herself off the boat, making Beca lost her balance from the sudden movement which rocked the tiny boat and get thrown a few seconds after Luisa jumped to the sea.

Half-awake and panicked, she flailed when she realized she was sinking deeper with each arm flails. She tried to calm herself down and started to swim, but her limbs felt heavy and sluggish because of her half-awake state and being surprised. The water around her was getting dark and it felt like something pulled her downwards. Adrenaline and panic clashed in her system.

Suddenly, she felt arms around her and they swam quickly to the surface. Beca coughed and gulped at the same time, trying to cough the water out and inhaled precious air. Her heartbeat was still ringing in her ears and her eyes were still blurry from the mixture of sea water and tears.

“Are you alright?!”

Beca nodded and coughed at the same time. _Really, Beca? A fisherman who nearly dies because of drowning? What kind of irony is that?_

The arms around her loosened up a bit, enough to make her coughing less painful, but tight enough to keep her afloat.

“Beca, I apologize… I was surprised when I woke up and see the sky above me instead of water. It was wrong of me.” Luisa whispered softly, feeling guilty after accidentally threw her friend into the water and upturned Beca’s boat. Fishes were floating in the water around them. Luisa winced at the sight of her kind’s lifeless bodies that now died in vain thanks to her foolishness.

“Don’t…don’t worry. I was—“Beca coughed. “I was surprised too. It’s not your fault.”

“I suppose I was, ah, overwhelmed.” Her arms tightened a bit around the younger woman and she pulled her closer in her arms.

Beca squeaked. _Oh my Gods, it’s right on my back!_

“Uh, me too! I’m overwhelmed right now! How about we turn my boat upright instead?!”

“Ah, right.”

Luisa slowly let go of Beca after making sure she can swim on her own (“ _I spend my whole life on the sea, Luisa, what do you think?_ ”) and threw her an apologetic glance.

Beca waved it away and turned her boat upright with Luisa’s help while stealing glances toward her arms.  _She’s strong; I wonder if she can fight without her magic?_

She tried to climb on her boat, but she was still a bit weak after the impromptu drowning. _How embarrassing! A fisherman who nearly drowned and can’t climb into her boat on her own!_

Without warning, Luisa lifted Beca from behind and put her back on the boat.

“Wh—Don’t do that! Are you trying to scare me to death?!”

The mermaid’s eyes widened with alarm. “Of course not! I just saw you struggling to climb on your boat and I thought I could help you!”

Beca rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I know, and thanks for that. But if I ever fall again, at least let me know before you lifted me with those strong and beautiful arms of yours.”

Luisa smirked and Beca blushed when she realized what she just said.

“You are welcome, and I am glad you noticed my strong and beautiful arms.” She grinned.

Beca groaned.

_Ye Gods, smite me already._

* * *

 

Beca scowled when she saw her sail was wet from the water. How should she get back to the land? She could row it, but she wasn’t sure she could reach the shore before dark. She wouldn’t want to be on the sea in the nighttime. The moons tended to make things weird, especially in full moons night like now.

The rumble of the thunder intensified, and she was sure it will rain soon enough, judging from the heavy gray clouds around her. Her heart skipped a beat; it reminds her a bit when she nearly drowned trying to fish enough to pay Smith and Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger ( _seriously, who the hell had three surnames? Not to mention each surname is snottier than before_ ) and she really didn’t want that to happen again.

“You should go back, yes?” Luisa’s voice snapped Beca out of her thought.

“Well, yes, but I can’t exactly sail back with a wet sail.” She frowned. “And I suppose I could row the boat, but it will take too long and I’d rather not be here when it’s dark.”

Luisa tilted her head. “And why is that?”

Beca scratched her eyebrow. “I don’t know… the moons always make things weird, especially in full moons night like now.”

Luisa made two circles with her forefingers and thumbs and muttered something under her breath.

“…what?”

“It was ah, a ward and a prayer at the same time. Although we rarely come to the surface, we know enough about the moons. I asked for protection from the God of Sea from what may come next.”

Beca paled. “Is it dangerous?!”

“No, not exactly. But sometimes the ghost ship comes out and it passes through here. We can feel the unnaturalness seeping from them to where we live.”

“G-ghost?!”

“Yes, I suppose they are stuck in this plane of existence forever because they broke the deal with whoever they made a pact with.”

“Oh Gods, how am I supposed to leave?” Beca moaned.

“I could push and you could row?”

“Are you sure? I think we’re quite far away from the shore where I live.”

Luisa rolled her shoulders and Beca found her eyes followed the mermaid’s movements. _She is really strong, how could I miss it all this time? Look at her shoulders and arms!_

“We will never know unless we try, right?”

 

* * *

 

It turned out full moons screwed with them pretty badly.

They were pretty sure they headed to the right direction when a breeze subtly pushed the boat, or a school of fishes nibbled Luisa’s tail and distracting her, or the moonlights suddenly stopped shining on them and basically threw them off their course.

Beca muttered curses under her breath while rowing; her eyes tried to adapt to the darkness around them since the moonlights refused to shine on them, the bastards.

Luisa tugged at the back of Beca’s shirt. “Do not swear, they do not like it.”

The fisherman gulped and turned to face Luisa, who frantically shook her head and mouthed _turn your gaze back_ with face pale from terror. She quickly turned her back to Luisa.

“W-what is it?! You’re scaring me!”

“They are right behind us. Do not look behind you, do not swear, and most importantly, do not be afraid.” Luisa hissed.

“W-who are they?”

“They are the undead crew of the ghost ship I told you before. We are unlucky to stumble upon them tonight. Usually they do not come out for another three full moons.”

“Are they… are they dangerous?” Beca whispered nervously, her arms were tired from rowing and her arms were trembling from the utter _wrongness_ she feel emanating from behind them.

And they were getting closer.

“Not usually, no, but I do not want to test that. Row faster, Beca!”

“I’m trying!” _Not usually?! So sometimes they’re dangerous?!_

The human and the mermaid both tried to get away from the ghost ship behind them, but it was very difficult since it was so dark and the stars were hidden whenever the moons met to give them privacy.

The moons Yura and Azai were the daughters of the Goddess of the Sky. Incidentally, they were also lovers, which angered their Mother and caused them to only show up in a certain time and never at the same time; except for once in a month when their Mother looked the other way because of their older sibling the Sun’s incessant pleading.

Beca scowled at the twin moons above them. _Lovers are the worst!_

Behind her, Luisa was half-praying and half-begging. “Yura, Azai, hear my voice. We do not wish to disturb your time together, but we need your guidance to get away from the sea and back to our home. I beg of you, O Great Moons.”

Beca wanted to tell Luisa that praying wouldn’t help them, and the twins were bastards who never listened when anyone prayed to them, but she held her tongue and continued to row her boat in silence while seething towards the twins above her and the ghost ship behind her.

Slowly but surely, the ghost ship started to gain speed and getting closer to them faster than they expected. They started to feel cold and Beca can see her own breath in front of her as fogs. Her arm hair was standing up from the mixture of cold and fear.

Luisa continued to pray even when her teeth were chattering. Beca was tempted to tell her to shut up, but before she could open her mouth to do so, a miracle happened.

Azai was shining her light to the pair, making the sea glowed in eerie red light.

_Of course it’s Azai, Yura’s a stingy asshole._

It was actually even scarier than before, since the red light made the sea look like a huge pool of blood, but Beca can’t complain since now she could see a small sea cave that looked familiar, if weird with the red glow.

“Oh thank you, Great Azai! We are in your debt! You have our thanks!”

The light glowed even brighter (apparently, Azai was a sucker for praise) and Beca swore for a moment the moon preened from Luisa’s words, but she dismissed it as her overactive imaginations and half-gratitude, half-annoyance towards the twins.

They quickly rowed and pushed the boat to the small sea cave and sighed in relief when the boat fit enough to go inside the cave. They were worried the ghost ship will follow them here, but it looks like they were satisfied after making both the human and the mermaid scared and turned back to the other direction.

Soon, the cold was gone and the feeling of wrongness was lifted from their chests.

Beca groaned and lay on her back on the boat. “Gods, that was scary! What did I get myself into?”

“Once again, I apologize…”

“Oh, stop it, Luisa.” Beca’s tone was sharp. “Now we’re both safe thanks to you. Never know they would grant a prayer.” Her voice was tinged with bitterness. She remembered when she was younger, she used to be on her knees begging for them to show the way to her mother (or even her mother’s body, at least she will know for sure) or to her estranged father, but the moons never once answered her prayers.

But when a mermaid prayed, they granted it.

Needless to say, Beca was jealous.

But she knew it wasn’t Luisa’s fault. All deities were fickle bastards, and they will grant prayers according to their whims.

“I did not know either. Perhaps Azai was in a generous mood.” Luisa shrugged.

Azai was still looking towards them since her light was still glowing and turned the cave to dark red hue. Beca murmured _thanks_ half-heartedly and sit down. She started to pull on her shirt when Luisa interrupted her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to dry my clothes. I can’t sleep with wet clothes or I’ll get sick. If I hang them on my boat, they should be dry tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Beca tried to not feel self-conscious when she felt Luisa’s gaze on her back. She shouldn’t feel shy in front of someone who was topless all the time, but alas human propriety rooted deep in her.

Now only clad in undergarments, Beca shivered a little from the cold sea air (which thankfully a natural kind of cold instead of unnatural cold from the ghost ship) and wrapped her arms around her body.

“Are you cold?”

Luisa blushed when Beca’s deadpan stare was directed towards her. “Of course you are. Stupid question.”

The human sighed. “Now the question is whether I will survive until morning with just undergarments on without succumbing to hypothermia.”

“What is that?”

“When the body gets too cold and loses the heat faster that they could make it…” She trailed off when she noticed Luisa’s confused look. “You do know humans can die if it’s too cold, right?”

“I guessed that when I saw humans wear thick clothing when winter comes, but why would you get too cold if you just get a little wet?”

“…Luisa, a little wet for you is really fucking wet for me.”

“…Right.” She frowned. “Then what should we do?”

“I suppose you don’t have a dry coat around, do you?”

“No, sorry. All my things are wet since they are all under the sea.”

The brunette snorted. “I know. It was a rhetorical question.”

“A what?”

Beca waved her off. “Never mind that. Maybe I could wear my clothes again.”

“But you will get sick.”

“Better to get sick than to die, Luisa.”

The mermaid frowned deeply at that. She neither wanted Beca to get sick or die, but she didn’t know what to do.

Then it hit her.

Magic.

“What about warmth?”

Beca turned to Luisa with a faint blush. _Don’t tell me she means…_ “What about it?”

“You will be alright if you are warm, yes?”

“Of course, but we don’t have the means to get warm…” She trailed off when she saw Luisa held up her glowing palms. “What is that?!”

“Magic, obviously. I can make you feel warm as long as I put my palm on your body.”

“Okay, that’s a handy magic to have, but why would you have that kind of magic? It’s just a bit strange, is all.”

“What is so strange about it? I altered a bit of reality and I asked for some warmth. It is cold down there, you know. Sometimes we want some warmth without going to the surface and enjoying Maren’s sunlight.”

“Altered reality?!” _How could she mention that so casually?! Did she know the potential from her magic?!_

“All magic altered reality, somehow. As long as it is not too strong, those who have the blood can ask for a bit of alteration.”

“Okay, that’s a bit too much for me to handle right now, but you have to explain it to me later, okay?”

“Of course. Now come here and let me warm you up.”

Beca blushed when her imagination turned Luisa’s innocent words into something else and with another kind of warming up, but she sidled closer to Luisa who managed to climb into the boat gracefully.

The mermaid puts her glowing palms on Beca’s shoulders, making the human shivered in delight. “Oh wow, this is great!”

“Thank you.” She squeezed Beca’s shoulders, which made the human in question hissed in warmth and delight.

“Now you can go to sleep while I’m warming you like this.” Her hands traveled to Beca’s upper back and neck.

“H-how about you?” She started to feel drowsy. It was warm and Luisa’s thin fingers felt nice on her neck.

“I do not need to sleep until at least a few more days. I am stronger than you, remember?” Beca practically could hear her smirking from there.

“I’ll let that slide because I don’t want you to stop.” Now her fingers started to stroke her neck, which was really nice and make her shiver for another different reason altogether.

“I will not stop unless you want me to.”

_Did she realize what she just said? Gods above, woman!_

“Then don’t stop.”

“I will not, then.”

“Go—“A huge yawn cut Beca off. “Good, because I’m really sleepy.”

“Lie down and I will make you warm until morning.”

She complied and lay down on the boat with her back turned to Luisa. The mermaid also laid down beside her and slowly encircled her arm around Beca. She will not fall asleep this time; the repeat of the incident will be too embarrassing.

“Is this… okay?”

“Of course. You’re warmer this way.” Beca yawned again and snuggled closer to Luisa.

“Sleep well, human.”

Beca’s last thought before sleep consuming her was _why didn’t she dry my clothes first?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because she wants you naked, beca. obviously.
> 
> i drowned once when i was younger and yes it felt like something pulling you downwards. i still feel like that whenever i'm trying to swim so there you have it.
> 
> the more sleep deprived i am the messier my story become ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	6. i've got a lovely bunch of coconuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca and Pieter finally meet and bonded over coconuts.
> 
> (Or is it?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Jura](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Jura/pseuds/Jura) get well soon bro

Maren was slowly coming out of his hiding, replacing Yura and Azai in the sky. Along with him, their mother Irea the Goddess of Sky was gradually brightened, orange and yellow replacing the darkness of the night.

Azai slowly disappeared since it was Yura’s turn to shine until the next full moons. She too went to sleep, both for allowing Maren’s light to shine upon the Earth and to mourn her too short time with Azai.

Which means tonight will be another moonless night.

Not that Luisa mind; she was used to the darkness. One had to if they lived under the sea. But honestly, yesterday was scary; especially with a human that she had to protect.

Beca will be mad if she ever implied that the human can’t protect herself, but she wasn’t sure a knife and oars will work with supernatural creatures. As someone with the blood, Luisa often attracted otherworldly things. Even in the sea, if she stared at the darkness that surrounds the city for too long, something will eventually stare back.

It made her uncomfortable.

She didn’t want to attract the wrong sort of attention when she was with Beca, like she found herself with more often recently. The ghost ship was more than enough.

The mermaid felt guilty that the ghost ship was chasing them yesterday (Gods, was it yesterday? Time passed so quickly whenever she was with Beca) partly because she was on the surface instead of down below. They were interested with the call of the blood. Magic was so potent in this strange world and Luisa still didn’t understand why the God of Sea would choose to bestow her with the gift. Not that she complained, but sometimes it was more trouble than it’s worth. It helped a lot with her scouting, but…

Oh Gods.

Her scouting mission!

She completely forgot to check with Indra or at least told Pieter about what she found. The excitement that she felt whenever she was with Beca made her neglect her mission.

Gods, Indra will be so angry at her. He was content letting Luisa roam the surface more often than usual, but neglecting her mission was a no-no in his book. And Pieter will be so worried…

Luisa gulped.

Now she was stuck with a half-naked sleeping human that was snuggling her and an angry boss down below.

Oh no.

 

* * *

 

Warmth surrounded Beca when she slowly wakes up, but at the same time she felt breezy around her body. It was a weird combination.

The scent of water and the faint smell of fish assaulted her nose. Being a fisherman, Beca was familiar with those scents, but certainly not at this time in the morning. And certainly not with a strange warmness on her back.

She slowly opened her eyes to find herself staring at the side of her boat.

She blinked.

_What the…_

“Good morning, Beca.”

Beca stiffened, but she let herself relax when she realized it was Luisa and not some strangers she decided to sleep with. Literally sleep with, mind you.

“Hey, Luisa.” Her voice was rough from sleep and the lack of water. Now that it was morning and the adrenaline after yesterday incident went down, she just realized that she hadn’t eaten or drank anything since yesterday afternoon and her bladder was screaming at her. She also felt really grimy, the side effect of falling to the sea and didn’t really wash it off, she suppose.

Luisa retracted her hands and Beca felt cold around the area where the mermaid’s hands once been. She sat down and rubbed her eyes while trying to ignore the pang of disappointment that suddenly appeared.

“Here you go; it is finally dry when you left it overnight.”

Beca turned around and saw Luisa handed her the now dry clothes from the other side of her boat. She murmured a soft _thanks_ and dressed. Luisa nodded and tried hard not to look at the human while she was dressed. It was hard because she was naturally curious and Beca was different and _there_.

“So yesterday was… something else.” Beca said.

“Yes. It was partly my fault, so again I must apologize.”

The fisherman held up her hand. “Stop that. If you’re really sorry, leave me alone while I’m trying to find relief and go get me some food and drink.” She didn’t want to be angry at Luisa, but apologies meant nothing to her. She always thought instead of apologizing, it’s better to fix whatever mistake that happened and be better for the next time.

Besides, apologies didn’t soothe her hungry stomach.

Luisa was startled at the sharpness of Beca’s tone, but she understands that the human just went through a scary experience and perhaps she wanted to digest it on her own.

And even she knew no one wanted to be seen when answering nature’s call.

So she just nodded and slowly dropped herself to the water as to not repeat yesterday’s incident and dived down to look for food.

_I wonder if Beca likes shrimps._

* * *

 

When she heard Luisa dived down, Beca sighed in relief. As much as she liked Luisa, she didn’t want to field questions about human excretion system today. Not in the mood.

After finding a secluded place deep inside the cave, she relieved herself and cleaned up as best as she could and went back to the part of the cave where she left her boat.

She screamed when she saw someone who was not Luisa staring at her.

The person was startled from her scream and stared at her with his mouth hung open.

“Who are you?! How did you get here?!”

When the man didn’t say anything and still staring at her in shock, she pulled her emergency knife from one of her boots. “I said who are you and how did you get here?!”

Looking at the human brandishing a sharp steel was enough for the man to gesture wildly with his hands on the air, an universal gesture of ‘I surrender’ and to showed Beca he didn’t mean any harm.

Beca narrowed her eyes and she slowly walked closer to the strange man.

“Can you talk?”

The man opened his mouth and speaks, but all she heard was the sound of waves lapping against the rocks. He scowled and tried again, but now she heard the rumble of the distant storm.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re one of the merfolk?!”

It seems like he understood what she was saying even if he couldn’t speak to her because he nodded rapidly and smiled.

“That explained how you could get here without a boat.” She muttered and sheathed her knife back to her left boot. The man’s face brightened when he saw the human put away her weapon.

“Are you Luisa’s friend?”

The man nodded and perked up when he heard Luisa’s name. He gesticulated wildly and the sound of drizzle was filling the small cave.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sorry.”

He sighed and his lean shoulder drooped down. He rubbed his face tiredly, and Beca saw how different his fingers were compared to Luisa’s. If Luisa’s fingers were longer and thinner than humans and looked like what people called spider fingers, the man’s were unusually short and thick like weird little sausages.

Beca mentally filed away the differences and made a note to ask Luisa about it later. Shame she couldn’t understand the man; it was the first time she met a male merfolk and it was shocking how human he looked like.

He had short dark hair and very small ears for the size of his head, long swan-like neck, and subtly build torso. He wasn’t as pale as Luisa, but she could still see his scales if she concentrated on it. She noted he didn’t have nipples and internally blushed when she remembered how she could feel Luisa’s on her back yesterday.

She wanted to ask to see his tail, but she didn’t know if it was considered polite or not among merfolk. After all, she just had Luisa as a frame of reference. How would she know the etiquette among them? It wasn’t like Luisa talked much about the merfolk society or something.

Before she could say anything, her stomach growled furiously. He jerked back like he was getting slapped and he looked around wildly trying to find the source of the sound. Beca smiled slightly, Luisa and he had the same reaction when her stomach growled. How curious…and endearing.

“Sorry, it was me. I’m hungry because I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.” She shrugged.

He tapped the cave floor in front of him and grinned. He lifted his incredibly short index finger and made a sound of gentle waves before diving down.

Beca blinked.

 

* * *

 

She was bored waiting for Luisa and the strange merman. She tried to sleep, but the pang of hunger in her stomach and the dryness of her throat was too strong to ignore. She didn’t want to leave without saying anything to any of them; even she knew it was rude, human or not. Shame the wind was slow today; she didn’t think she had enough strength in her to row towards the shore of her village in her condition right now.

A splash woke her up from her half-asleep state and she opened her eyes to find the merman offered two coconuts with a huge grin on his face.

“Oh wow, thank you!” She took the coconuts from his hands happily. Now she could satisfy her hunger and quenched her thirst at the same time! Such a wonderful fruit. She was glad they were freely available on the shore near her village. She hoped no one saw him if he was indeed wandering near her village.

He smiled and cocked his head when the human pulled her knife from her boot again, but nodded in understanding when she tried to hack open the fruit.

It was hard; partly because of the size of her knife ( _should’ve brought a cleaver,_ Beca thought) and partly because of her shaking hands. She didn’t know if it was the hunger speaking or performance anxiety of trying to open a fruit in front of a stranger from another species or what.

Eventually, she managed to drill a small hole on the coconut and drank the water greedily. The merman looked at her in awe; the human might be small, but she drank all of it in one gulp.

Beca wiped her mouth and tried to widen the hole with her small knife when she saw the merman extended a hand towards her.

“What?”

He pointed towards the coconut on her lap and made a gesture of pulling something apart with his hands.

“You want to open it for me?”

He nodded and Beca placed the coconut on his hands. She raised her eyebrows when the merman pulled it apart so easily and gave it back to her.

“Okay, that was awesome. You sure are strong, huh?”

He smiled and wagged his tail, splashing Beca with some sea water. She let it slide; the stranger just helped her after all.

She ate greedily, using her knife as a fork to cut out the coconut meat and he stared at her in silence. When she finished the fruit, she drilled open the other coconut and drank the water but with less urgency than before.

He pulled the fruit apart once again when Beca gave it to him and blinked when she gave him half of the fruit.

“You can have it. I’m not as hungry and thirsty as before.”

He stared at the fruit on his hand and lifted it to his mouth. Sweet and slightly nutty tasting water filled his mouth, and while he liked it, he hoped it was safe for him. After all, this was human’s food and they ate a lot of things and dies after, what, 50 years?

“How is it?”

He shrugged and gave the fruit back to her. She shook her head and in a show of trust gave the man her knife. “Here, use it to eat the meat. I don’t think you can pull it apart that easily.”

He took the knife and thought _, the human lacks self-preservation_. But he didn’t voice it aloud (it wasn’t like she will understand anyway) and pulled the meat from the fruit.

It was…tasty. A bit oily and sweet, but he relished it since he never had a lot of chances of tasting sweet before. He grunted and continues to eat.

Beca smiled slightly when she watched the merman demolished the fruit with gusto. She hoped one day she will find something that Luisa will like to eat, too.

They didn’t realize the mermaid that they were looking for was looking at them from afar. Planktons and shrimps were squirming in her hands.

Luisa narrowed her eyes and threw them back to the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not a lot of bekommissar but it will set the tone for the next chapter yeeeeey


	7. yet another 'rival' appears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy and awkwardness ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been nearly a month omfg ;_; i'm so sorry. work, depression, and pokemon go got my attention. in fact, i've been writing rough draft about bekomissar playing pokemon go, but idk lol

Luisa suddenly stopped, causing Pieter to bump to her back.

“ ** _Ah, hey, why are you stopping? And why did you throw it away? If you changed your mind to give it to your human, you can give it to me instead of wasting it._** ” He whined.

“ ** _Pieter, look_**.”

“ ** _Huh?_** ”

He followed Luisa’s pointed finger and gaped. **_“What the… what’s pretty boy doing up here?!”_**

**_“And why would he approach her?”_** She gritted her teeth.

**_“Are you jealous?”_** Pieter smirked. He never thought he would see Luisa getting jealous over anyone since she was normally so aloof and uncaring, but apparently she had that kind of feelings too when it came to the human.

Correction, _her_ human.

**_“What? No. Don’t be foolish.”_** She sneered.

**_“Whatever you say.”_** He chuckled.

The two merfolks watched them interact from afar and Luisa’s tail wagged aggressively, splashing Pieter with water. She didn’t know why she reacted like this, but she couldn’t help it.

**_“You want to go there and approach the Honorable Prince Kasper and the fair maiden?”_** Pieter’s sarcasm when he said ‘honorable’ was thicker than a pool of blood. **_“Or should we wait here and spy on them?”_**

**_“Let’s just wait here for a bit and see what he wants from her.”_ **

**_“Alright.”_ **

****

* * *

 

Beca finally finished eating and now she was waiting for Luisa to come back. She hoped that the mermaid could facilitate some communication with the merman in front of her, because this was getting too awkward for her taste.

They were just staring at each other, unsure what to do since they couldn’t talk to each other. (Or rather, he couldn’t talk to Beca since it seems like he understood her perfectly)

She never knew what to say to her fellow humans, let alone someone from another species. She was glad it was never awkward with Luisa; even their silences were comfortable.

But she felt like she had to break the silence even if she didn’t know what to say. She can’t expect the merman to be the one that doing it anyway.

“So, uh, you’re Luisa’s friend, right?” He nodded. “Did you know her for a long time?”

He rubbed his chin and nodded while smiling slightly.

She was hit by a wave of jealousy. This man knew Luisa for a long time; he probably knew more about the blonde compared to her.

But why would she get jealous over that? Luisa was allowed to have friends other than her. It didn’t make their relationship less valuable or anything.

She didn’t want to be like those jealous fools who forbid their spouses to have lives outside of their partners. How degrading.

And it wasn’t like Luisa is her spouse, so that analogy was a bad one.

Beca groaned.

 

* * *

 

**_“Okay, we can’t find out about anything from watching them. Your human can’t understand anything Kasper said, anyway.”_ **

**_“Good, I don’t want her to talk to Kasper or Kasper to talk to her.”_** She scowled.

**_“Shall we approach them, then? I’m sure she’s waiting for you.”_ **

**_“Fine.”_** Luisa sighed.

They approached the merman and the human without any words. Luisa announced their arrival with a big splash, which made Beca looked up.

Her face brightened when she saw Luisa, but quickly melted into confusion when she saw Pieter.

“Uh, hi. You’re bringing another friend?”

Luisa ignored Kasper’s attempt to get her attention. “Beca, meet my friend Pieter. He is my fellow scout.”

**_“Hello.”_** Pieter rumbled and grinned. The human blinked, but extended her hand to Pieter in response.

The merfolks were staring at her in confusion.

Beca blushed from being the center of the attention. “What? I don’t know how merfolks greetings are like. It’s how human greet each other, by shaking hands.” She awkwardly explained and put her hand down.

“I see.” Luisa turned to Pieter and she said something in their language which made Pieter nodded rapidly. The big merman turned to Beca and extended his hand with a grin on his face.

Beca smiled and shook his hand while Luisa and the other merman were looking at them in wonder. Pieter’s hand was clammy and his grip was strong, but she noted that his palms and fingers were full of calluses.

She wondered if Luisa’s hands were the same.

Pieter released her hand and nudged Luisa. The mermaid sighed and pointed towards the other merman. “This is Kasper. You can say that he is a… prince, yes? The son of the ruler?”

“A prince? I thought you said the merfolk has a Queendom and not a Kingdom?”

“Yes, but he is the son of our Queen. He will not rule, but he still has the title.”

“I see…”

Kasper frowned at Luisa, but the blonde ignored him. Beca wondered if he was really her friend.

“By the way, I apologize because I could not bring anything. I do not think you would eat raw fish, anyway.”

The human looked nauseated at the thought and shook her head. “You’re right, I won’t eat it raw. But thanks anyway.”

“Of course.”

Kasper tried to get Luisa’s attention, but the blonde was steadfast in ignoring him. Beca could see Pieter hid a smile behind his massive hand.

“Beca, while I want to chat a bit longer, I think we should get back, no? My boss is probably looking for me, and your human friends will be looking for you too.”

If Luisa was alone, she probably said that no one will be looking for her if she were missing, but Pieter and Kasper were strangers to her, and she didn’t feel comfortable to say that in front of them. So she just nodded and forced a small smile.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon, okay? Maybe you guys too.” She turned to Pieter and Kasper. Pieter grinned at her and Kasper smiled slightly before glancing at Luisa and dived down.

Luisa said something to Pieter and the merman nodded at whatever it was that she said. He waved to Beca and dived down following Kasper.

Now it was just the two of them and they stared at each other in an awkward silence. Luisa opened her mouth as if to say something, but she closed it again and just nodded to Beca before disappearing with a huge splash.

Slightly hurt by Luisa’s behavior, Beca swallowed the pain and started to walk to her village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it was so short! and for those who doesn't know who the diddly heck kasper is, he's the dude from borgen. birgitte was one of the main characters there, but it was so heavy because it was about denmark's politics so i gave up -_- it was really good though, so check it out if you have the time and patience. birgitte made danish sounds so beautiful.


	8. the festival (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca tried a lot of things at the festival and met with strange people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Jura for reminding me about this story lol

When Beca got back, the festival already begin. She could hear excited voices everywhere and the scents of food wafted to her nose. She suppressed a sigh and stroked her stomach. While the coconuts were enough for a small meal, it was already noon when she arrived.

The village’s guards gave her strange looks, but they let her pass without any comments. Beca ignored their stares and proceed to her hut, dodging her fellow villagers and visitors alike. The noise and scents started to make her head ache, and she sighed in relief when she finally entered her hut, locking the door behind her.

She closed all of her windows and stripped down to her birthday suit. There was some water left in the basin for washing, so she quickly washed every grime and sweat and sand from her body. She made a mental note to pick up more soap from the general goods trader.

Should she bring soap for Luisa, too?

If the blonde was human, she probably would be insulted by it, since for humans it would be implying that she stank. But since she wasn’t one, Beca wonder if she would be curious and happy about it.

But then she remembered Luisa’s strange behavior this morning and her smile quickly vanished.

Was it because she talked to Kasper? Maybe she thought Beca infringed on her ‘territory’, so to speak?

No, it felt like they were barely friends. Kasper tried so hard to get Luisa’s attention, yet the mermaid was all but pretending he didn’t exist.

Then what was the matter?

Beca exhaled loudly and finished her wash.

 

* * *

 

She tried to sleep again, but it was impossible since she wasn’t tired, it was really noisy outside, and her stomach was rumbling since about an hour ago.

Beca thought about her choices. If she stayed inside, she wouldn’t have to face the crowds and get overwhelmed, but her stomach will be mad at her and her foolishness to not stocking up food in case like this.

What can she say; Luisa held her attention more than buying food.

She groaned loudly and caved into her stomach’s demands. Beca took her coin purse, put on her boots, and flicked off her oil lamps before heading out of the door.

She locked the door and nearly bumped into an overwhelmed father and his excitable daughter pulling his hand. He muttered a quick ‘ _sorry_ ’ and let his daughter lead the way.

There was something inside Beca that felt cold when she saw the interaction. Did she and her father ever go out together like that? She couldn’t remember anymore.

Beca shook her head and she was torn between the quieter food markets or the crowded festival stalls. Normally, she would choose the market without any doubt, but she wasn’t in the mood for another fish or stew. Besides, maybe the stalls wouldn’t be so bad. Sure, it would be overpriced, but it was once a year occasion, so she couldn’t fault them to try to get more money than usual.

Perhaps she could go to the Eastern traders’ stalls, where they sold some kind of food made of flour called ‘noodles’? Or the Southern, where they sold fried birds and snakes and scorpions? Or even the mysterious Western traders with their fruits and nuts and leaves and all the Earth’s harvests?

_Well,_ the small voice in her head said, _why not all of them?_

Beca considered it. If she bought so many foods at once, her purse will be empty in no time.

But then again, it was a festival. Even if she didn’t particularly care for it, she could try to expand her taste, right?

Besides, she could make it up with a full day of fishing, yet another advantage of being friends with a sea-dweller.

She found herself in front of one of the Eastern traders’ stalls (which was very noticeable, what’s with the spinning gears and noodles that formed ‘Darrio’s Noodles’ in Common and Kashtun alike) and watching the seller twirled the noodles around with interest along with a few people around her. The seller, an oddly shirtless man with light tan, curled mustache, a really tall hat, and black round spectacles (Beca thought that was the word) covering his eyes, was putting on a show when he saw people around his stall. He twirled and shook the noodles like he was dancing with it, and Beca saw a hint of smile beneath his mustache.

He finally finished and put the noodle inside a bowl with some kind of broth in it. The crowd clapped for his show and he bowed with flourish. Soon, he and his assistants quickly served noodles for the starving customers.

He turned to Beca, who was still trying to decide what kind of noodles she should buy, and handed her the bowl.

“For you, merrah,” he said softly, his accent exaggerated the ‘r’. Beca remembered from one of her books that he addressed her with a polite form of ‘lady’ in Kashtun. “Free of charge.”

“Sir, I couldn’t possibly…”

“Don’t worry about it, merrah. Darrio couldn’t possibly ask for money from a Sea-Blessed.”

“A what?”

But he only smiled again and gave Beca the bowl, his attention was diverted to his customers.

Beca blinked in confusion, but she wasn’t going to refuse free food, so she quickly digs in.

 

* * *

 

She felt warmth from her head to her toe after eating Darrio’s noodles. She gave the bowl to one of his assistants and went away to wander around some more.

Since she didn’t actually spent money at Darrio’s, she was more than happy to look around some more. Maybe there were trinkets or something interesting? Or books! She could’ve used more books. Maybe she should visit the Western traders’ stalls to see if they carried some books. Beca had to admit she didn’t know much about the Westerners other than they lived in the forests and underground. Mostly underground.

She couldn’t really fathom how people could live _under_ the ground, not _above_ it. She loved the feeling of Earth underneath her feet, the sun shining on her back, and the breeze from the sea playing with her hair. But then again, she couldn’t fathom how could people in her own country lived so far north there were no days and where it was always freezing cold either. She loved where she lived; near the sea with moderate temperature and merciful winter and playful summer. She couldn’t ask for more. Maybe fewer people, but that’s it.

When she was getting close to one of the Westerners’ stalls, she didn’t need to see any signs to know that she was in the right place. Unlike Darrio’s stall, this one was plain and less crowded, but the earthy and musky smell was unmistakable.

Less charitable people, including Beca in the past, would describe the smell as ‘unwashed armpits’, but she tried not to judge. People had their own ways to live; who was she to judge if the Westerners bathe less than Northerners? Or even everyone in the world?

So she tried to not breathe from her nose and peered around the stall. It was mostly trinkets; small things like necklaces and rings and earrings. They all looked ordinary until a pair of rings caught her eyes.

It looked like a plain metal ring; it was gray with some kind of black rune around it, but for some reason it felt like it was c _alling_ to her. She reached out to touch it.

“I see you’ve found the Rings of Bonds.”

Beca jumped and swore when a voice surprised her out of nowhere. The owner of the voice was a woman that she guessed around her age, with sickly pale skin, matted red hair, startling blue eyes, and white clothes wrapped around her shoulder and breasts yet showed her stomach. She also wore an intricate flower crown and branches on her head, an indication that this woman was a priestess for a local Goddess back in her home. At least, according to the books that Beca read.

The priestess grinned from behind her stall. “Sorry to surprised you. I’m amazed a Biasa like you could spot a real enchanted item.”

“A what?”

“Biasa, it’s the term my people used to describe people without magic.”

“’Your people’, as in Westerners or the priestesses?”

“Yes,” the redhead smiled cheekily.

Beca rolled her eyes. “Fine, be mysterious. See if it will make me buy it.”

“But you will.”

“And why are you so sure?”

“I’ve already predicted it,” she shrugged.

“Great, mysterious _and_ cocky. You’re not exactly making me want to buy it, you know.”

The other woman said nothing and just smiled. Beca rolled her eyes again and walked away from the stall, but not without hearing the priestess muttered, “You will be back, Sea-Blessed.”

Weirdo.

 

* * *

 

She was glad for a breath of fresh air when she walked away from the weird priestess’ stall. Even alone, she emanated a smell strong enough to make her head ache. She shuddered when she thought about the whole nation full of them.

It was started to dark and Yura was probably in one of her moods since she didn’t shine her light here. But the stars and the torch were more than enough to compensate for the lack of the bitchy moon’s light.

Her stomach rumbled again, and now she stopped in front of a Southerner’s stall. The owner was busy fanning a row of grilled skewered meat. Beca watched in fascination as he turned the meat so the other side was also grilled. The crackle of the charcoal and the smell of the meat aroused her curiosity and her appetite, so she quietly watched him. He nodded curtly at her and went back to fanning his meat, and Beca was relieved. _Finally, a normal vendor._

She took a seat on a bench in front of the stall and stared at the stars. They were chasing each other playfully, making the lights shined all over the place. She sighed wistfully, wishing Luisa was here to snark at the celestial beings with her.

_Should I go to see her tomorrow? Maybe whatever ails her are already passed._

Beca tapped her chin, deep in thought. _Maybe I could buy her something from here? But what if she doesn’t like it?_

Another crazy idea popped up in her head. _What if I asked her to go to festival with me?_

She frowned at the thought. How the hell would Luisa walked in the first place, anyway? Stupid.

A  sound of cleared throat snapped Beca’s out of her musing about Luisa. She looked up to see the vendor handed her a plate of the skewered meat with some sort of peanut sauces on it and some sort of… rice, she guessed, half-wrapped in some sort of leaf on a smaller plate.

He also handed her a fork and a glass of tea. She nodded thankfully at him and he left her alone to prepare some more meat.

She took a sip of her tea and she was surprised to find it sweet. It was a bit strange, but she thought she like it.

When the meat and the sauce hit her tongue, it felt like her tongue was set on fire. She quickly gulped down more tea. No wonder he gave her sweet tea; it was to counteract the spiciness.

She quickly finished her supper because there were people waiting around to buy the strange food now, and she didn’t want to get in the way for them to use the bench. She drained the last of her tea and asked, “How much?”

The seller didn’t even glancing up from his meats. (Beca wondered how could he didn’t feel hot and sweaty from standing around open fire with a thick coat that covered everything except his face, dark with circles of charcoals around his eyes, and belatedly realize while it wasn’t cold for her, it was probably too cold for someone who hailed from a nation with two suns.) “Twenty silvers.”

Beca paid him and went back to her hut. Tomorrow, she would see if Luisa was feeling better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where else I could've used a few things from my country if not in my own fic ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
